Common Diseases Associated with HIV and AIDS - Opportunistic Infections

Q - What are the common diseases associated with HIV and AIDS?

A - People living with HIV and AIDS suffer from 2 groups of common diseases. Opportunistic Infections and HIV/AIDS associated tumors. This page will answer questions related to opportunistic infections only.

Q - What are opportunistic infections?

A - Opportunistic infections are diseases that occur in people only when their resistance (immunity) is lowered or destroyed. They occur in patients with HIV and AIDS because of the destruction of their immune system.

They include: Tuberculosis, Atypical Mycobacterial infections, Pneumocistis Jiroveci Pneumonia (PCP), Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections, Thrush (oral, oesophageal, pulmonary, and vaginal candidiasis), Toxoplasmosis, and Histoplasmosis.

Q - Why are they common in HIV/AIDS patients?

A - Opportunistic Iinfections are common in HIV and AIDS patients because of their weak immune systems.

Q - When do these diseases start appearing?

A - The common diseases associated with HIV and AIDS have no fixed time of appearance. Some begin to appear early in the course of HIV infection before a patient develops AIDS while some only appear when the patient has fully developed AIDS and as such serve as an indicator of AIDS.

Q - What are the symptoms of these diseases?

A - The symptoms vary greatly depending on the infection being suffered from. In addition , some of the symptoms overlap. Click on this link to get details of these common diseases associated with HIV and AIDS.

Q - Can they be prevented?

A - Some of them can be prevented by taking medication. HIV patients at a high risk for developing TB are given medication to prevent it. Also patients are given Co-trimoxazole to prevent them from developing PCP pneumonia. Others infections like Shingles and Toxoplasmosis are not routinely prevented by drugs, rather they are treated when they appear.

Q - How are they treated?

A - They are all treated by administering medications; AntiTB drugs for TB, Anti-viral drugs for CMV and Shingles, Anti-fungal medications for thrush. Some patients whose conditions are severe may need close observation in a medical facility. The decision to be admitted or to be treated as an out-patient is normally taken by the doctor or health care provider.

Q - Can these diseases reoccur after treatment?

A - Many of the opportunistic infections reoccur after being successfully treated and so sometimes a patient is asked to continue to take some medication to suppress the infection for life.

Q - Where can I get more information on the common diseases associated with HIV and AIDS?

A -

1. Ask your health care provider.
2. Talk to any qualified HIV/AIDS counselor.

Published - October, 2006